Britney Spears has "mental issues," manager says

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sam Lufti, the manager and
companion of troubled pop star Britney Spears, has said the
singer suffers from "mental issues" and has seen a
psychiatrist, talk show host Barbara Walters revealed on
Monday.

On her ABC television show "The View," veteran broadcast
journalist Walters said she spoke with Lufti by phone after he
reached out to her.

"He said that Britney is suffering from what he describes
as mental issues which are treatable," Walters said on "The
View." "He said that she has been to a psychiatrist and that
she, I assume, is starting some kind of treatment."

Walters said Lufti has been staying with the singer
"constantly" and added that Spears has been having "mood
swings, she's been having trouble sleeping."

Walters said she did not know whether Lufti was indeed
telling the truth.

Spears, 26, has seen her life spin out of control in the
past year since her late 2006 divorce from ex-husband Kevin
Federline.

She has exhibited bizarre behavior in public, including
being photographed not wearing underwear, and she and Federline
have waged a bitter legal battle over custody of their sons.

Late last year, Spears lost custody and visitation rights
to Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, and was ordered to
undergo drug and alcohol counseling and parental coaching.

She has failed on numerous occassions to appear in Los
Angeles family court for hearings dealing with her and
Federline's custody issues.